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Award Announcement Archive Heroes
Officer John Smith, 2019 Awardee

21 awarded Carnegie Medal for extraordinary civilian heroism

Posted on December 20, 2016 by Carnegie Hero Fund

heroismPITTSBURGH, PA, December 20, 2016—In its fourth and final announcement of 2016, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission today awarded the Carnegie Medal to 21 individuals throughout the United States and Canada in recognition of their acts of outstanding civilian heroism.  The medal is given to those who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save the lives of others.   Four of the awardees announced today died in the performance of their heroic acts.

The heroes announced today bring to 93 the number of awards made in 2016 and to 9,914 the total number since the Pittsburgh-based Fund’s inception in 1904.  Commission Chair Mark Laskow stated that each of the awardees or their survivors will also receive a financial grant.  Throughout the 112 years since the Fund was established by industrialist-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, $38.7 million has been given in one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits, and continuing assistance.

The awardees are:

  • Peter F. Pontzer, Fairfax, Va.
  • Duncan O. C. Harris, Buffalo Grove, Ill.
  • Ryan P. Rollinger, Harrisburg, S.D.
  • William E. Ramirez, Pembroke Pines, Fla.
  • Natalie Renee Martin, deceased, Sheboygan Falls, Wis.
  • Nathan Ryan Reynolds, Claremont, Calif.
  • R. Wayne Trivette, Metamora, Ohio
  • Timothy A. Holtz II, Sand Creek, Mich.
  • Clark Whitecalf, Gallivan, Sask.
  • Cody Fields, Silver Spring, Md.
  • Brian Nesbitt, Germantown, Md.
  • Shei’Londa S. Brooks, Houston, Texas
  • Lori Doppelheuer Kearney, deceased, Maysville, Ky.
  • Ivan R. Romero, Jr., Antelope, Calif.
  • Dennis D. Swenson, deceased, Cornucopia, Wis.
  • Calvin Bradley Stein, Madoc, Ont.
  • Kiera Vera Larsen, deceased, El Cajon, Calif.
  • Damian Bell, Pleasant Hill, Iowa
  • Joseph Kolanchick, Albany, N.Y.
  • Joshua Gary Grimmett, Boise, Idaho
  • Robert M. Shaw, Jr., Wallingford, Conn. 

To nominate someone for the CARNEGIE MEDAL, write the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, 436 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1101, Pittsburgh, PA 15219; call 1-800-447-8900 (toll free); or email carnegiehero@carnegiehero.org. More information is available on the CARNEGIE MEDAL and the history of the CARNEGIE HERO FUND COMMISSION can be found at carnegiehero.org. Find us on Facebook or Twitter.

News release (PDF)


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